the house stands >> fiscal cliff negotiations continue between congress and the white house. the house returns tomorrow at noon eastern. we will have coverage here on c- span. president obama spoke about the afternoon,ff this ev but in the agreement will not happen before tomorrow. his remarks are 10 minutes. >> happy new year to you. hello, everybody. thank you. please, everybody, have a seat. good afternoon, everybody. welcome to the white house. i realize that the last thing you want to hear on new year's eve is another speech from me. but i do need to talk about progress that is being made in congress today. for the last few days, leaders of both parties have been working on an agreement that will prevent the middle-class tax hikes hitting 90% of all americans starting tomorrow. preventing that tax hike has been my top priority. it is the last thing that folks like who are appear on this stage can afford right now, to pay an extra $2,000 in taxes. the middle class taxes cannot afford it -- middle-class families cannot afford it, and our economy cannot afford it. today it